Ulterior Motive
by Exhale Vanilla Lace
Summary: She is a chaos loving psycho, one of the most powerful beings in existence, neither good nor evil. So why is she spending so much time in Koenma’s office, watching over a certain spirit detective? Someone's trying to screw up the timeline, that’s why...


**A/N: **Okay this is the first time I've tried anything like this and I have to admit, I'm very excited! No, I don't know who the pairings are. I'm open to suggestions though. Actually by all means, VOTE! Read it and try to be open-minded. Love love!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, I do however, love it to bits!

**Prologue**

**(**_**It's not all that uncommon for one of us to go round the twist or want to take over a world or two…**_**)**

She had always taken a keen interest in Yusuke Urimeshi, even before he became a spirit detective. Something I'd at first considered alarming, then rather intriguing, and now, I had become so used to it, it made me wonder if it was strange at all.

She reasoned it was the chaos, or so she told me, that drew her toward him. At first, I thought she was surely joking; a single boy could not possibly emit so much chaos as to be singled out by someone like her. Then I saw him, and still, maybe I was just a bit suspicious. Then I met him, dealt with him, and found myself not disappointed.

Often she'd come to me, laughing close to tears. The first time it happened, I was positively terrified. Someone like her coming to the spirit world. Surely, she had other motives. Someone that powerful was dangerous. And for the longest time, I waited for the ulterior motive to surface. With baited breath and trembling hands, though I really had told no one else. And yet, three visits, four, fifteen, and that motive never surfaced. Years even passed and all she seemed to be here for was the chaos. After a certain amount of time, I grew quite used to her presence—annoyed, if not fond of it. At one point, I'd cracked a joke.

"_This human boy sounds like a delinquent. I didn't know you went for that type." _

_My face turned pale as I realized whom I was talking to. I couldn't talk to her that way! I'd be slaughtered!_

"_Haha, of course you didn't know." She dismissed immediately._

_I think my heart may have stopped. _

"_I do hope you're not getting jealous, Koenma, dear! Don't worry," she slung her arm around my neck, I thought surely she'd choke me to death, "you're the only prince in my life! Granted, that could be because I don't really know any other princes. Hmm…" _

_She tapped her chin in thought and then looked around in surprise. _

"_Breathe, boy, breathe!"_

_I gasped as her open palm slapped my back._

And I became less weary of her presence. Cushioned with the knowledge that she wouldn't rip out my tongue if I talked evenly with her, I was able to become very fond the girl. And so, slowly, I began to forget my suspicions of an ulterior motive and her interest in Yusuke Urimeshi became an old thing, though certainly never dull. Then one day, she made a point of telling me something quite startling.

"_You know, at first, I thought there was an ulterior motive behind all of this, but apparently you're just insane," I sighed._

"_Ulterior motive?" _

_She tilted her head, sheets of white hair falling to the side. _

"_Why of course there's an ulterior motive, Koenma."_

_I froze. _

"_What?"_

"_Nothing serious, really," she waved away._

She'd never tell me what her plans were, insisting they would be of no interest to me. And soon I could almost quote her excuses, her expected answers. It was all very infuriating mind you and I'd have liked nothing less then to interrogate her till she told me. But I was not stupid enough to do more then muse over the idea.

And then Yusuke died. He wasn't supposed to die of course, and I was relatively at a loss on what to do. Not even half an hour later, she came to me. I was not as surprised as I should have been.

"_Koenma, baby! How's it hanging!?" She fazed into the room and I jumped at the sudden appearance._

"_You're boy is dead, Zura," I told her quite seriously._

"_Oh, I know. I was there," she dismissed. "Question is, what shall we do about it?"_

"_What do you mean? He's dead—hit by a car," I pressed._

"_Ah, woe is the fragileness of humans. But we both know he wasn't meant to die," she grinned cheerily._

"_How do you know that?" I demanded. "That kind of information is not released to the public." _

_She fixed her startling eyes on me, staring down at me through the violet that made her so feared._

"_Come now, little prince, it's Yusuke we're talking about. Of course I know."_

_I frowned. Of course, she was right. When something caught her attention, she'd surely know all she could about it. But one thing confused me: despite all of this, the boy was still dead as a doornail really. _

"_This is a rather neat little trinket," she muttered, holding the silvery paperweight towards her face. _

"_Make him your spirit detective." _

_I did a double take, unsure if I'd really heard what she'd said._

_No, it couldn't be._

"_To hold paper down no less, the things you people come up with!"_

"_Are you mad?" I asked._

"_Hm? Oh yes, quite," she grinned, discarding the trinket in favor of floating towards me. _

"_You know I can't do that," I insisted._

"_Oh, but you must," she said, still sounding too playful for the topic. "You'll need a detective soon." _

_Her certainty threw me off guard. She knew something. Perhaps that ulterior motive I'd thought to be a lost cause was finally surfacing. _

"_Come now, Koenma dear, you've gotten extraordinarily lucky the past few years, after that disaster with Shinobu. But trouble is bound to pop up eventually. And you're going regret not getting yourself a detective—a free one, no less," she reasoned. _

"_Arg!" I growled, hands on my head in frustration. "It doesn't make any sense that you'd suggest that! You and your chaos. You're offering me a chance to quell the chaos and that's not something you'd do without some sort of ulterior motive!" _

"_Why of course there's an ulterior motive, Koenma!" she laughed._

_I was hit with such a powerful déjà vu that for a moment, I was speechless. "Ah… um…"_

"_So what do ya say, Koenma baby!? Yusuke Urimeshi, spirit detective!"_

"_Right, uh," I straightened myself in my chair. "You forget, Zura, that first, the boy must be alive to be a detective." _

"_Makes sense!" she clapped giddily and leaned over my desk. "So bring him back already!"_

"_If I didn't know better, I'd say all you wanted was your entertainment back," I muttered. _

"_Absolutely not. Yusuke Urimeshi—this delinquent boy who causes so much trouble—will first prove to me that he is worthy of coming back to life. And we can also make this a test to see if he is a candidate for spirit detective," I concluded, speaking fast so the female wouldn't interrupt me. "And don't try to argue with me, Botan is already on her way with the boy, he should be here any moment."_

"_Ah! My boy is coming here!? How's my hair look?" She was faking, but it was refreshing the light in the atmosphere._

"_You're hair's fine—freakishly, actually," I noticed. She grinned, teasing her silver locks to the side. _

"_I'm thinking of going brunette. It'd certainly be more natural, ya know? I'm tired of the attention I get walking in the street." _

"_It's not your hair you should worry about," I pointed out._

"_Huh?"_

"_Your eyes, Zura. They're very much not human. It brings attention to them," I explained._

"_Is it the purple iris with black lining? Cuz there's very little I can do about that. Or the way they glow in the dark…? There's little I can do about that too…" she sighed and, not for the first time, I found myself amazed that this girl was truly so terrifying back then, probably still would be now, if she chose it._

"_Lord Koemna," the com interrupted, "Boton's at the gate with Yusuke Urimeshi." _

"_Ah!" I straightened again; spending time with this girl was wreaking havoc on my posture. "Send them in at once."_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_That's my cue to leave!" she announced jovially._

"_W-what!? You're not staying?!" I faltered._

"_Haha, of course not! Yusuke's not ready to meet someone like me. Besides, I'm tired and he just died. His head's gonna explode with information as it is," she laughed again. "Tata!"_

And so that chaos-loving psycho left me with her little toy and Yusuke surprised me again. The stories she'd told me of the boy didn't fit with how he died. They did fit how he treated me upon entering the door. And again, the boy surprised me by saving Keiko's life in that fire, in exchange for his own, no less.

"_He saved her, I don't believe it!" I exclaimed._

"_Of course he saved her!" she said promptly, batting me over the head. "You didn't honestly think I was suggesting you to make a total bastard spirit detective, did you?"_

"_Actually…"_

"_My god, Koenma, what little faith you have in me! Ya know, I think all this time together has made you forget just who I actually am," she admitted. _

_I froze, had I finally gone too far? _

"_Cool it, little prince, I'm not gonna hurt ya."_

"_One thing I just can't seem to figure out is what happened to that human. The one who set Yusuke's house on fire," I cast a knowing glance at the girl and she shrugged._

"_Who knows?"_

"_Actually, his soul turned up very shortly after the incident," I said slowly._

"_Huh, guess that solves our mystery," she whistled herself into inconspicuously. "Now… get your ass down there and bring my entertainment back to life!"_

And Yusuke became my spirit detective. That very same night, my spirit vault was broken into. I've always been very suspicious about how much of the situation that woman knew. If one were to ask my personal opinion, I'd say it's like she knows exactly what's going to happen. Of course, I had no proof of this, but there was just something about the words she'd say. They'd sound completely normal one day then when you reviewed them the next you found them to be rather prophetic.

Or is that just me? Hm…

Yusuke beat them, interestingly enough. Well I suppose he didn't exactly beat Kurama. Surprised the hell out of me though; willing to give up his own life to save the togetherness of a mother and her son. Perhaps there was something more to this boy who Itazura had taken so keen an interest in. And with Hiei, it could again be said that without Kurama's aid, Urimeshi would have fallen in that fight. But Kurama did aid him, and really, it spoke volumes on how valuable Yusuke was to have earned the fox's respect so rapidly. Goki, yes, Yusuke beat Goki, no way around that one.

"_Yusuke kicked ass, ne?!"_

"_Yes, I must admit, he did very well."_

"_Psh,' very well.' You'll see, Koenma, this ones really gonna spin your hat." _

When Kurama and Hiei were brought in, she hardly spoke with them at all.

"Good luck, boys," she had said.

She had flashed Hiei a scary sort of grin and winked at Kurama before phasing out of my office all together. It made me wonder if all she was interested in was indeed that delinquent boy. But she never went farther then asking their sentence.

And then the Genkai fiasco. I had already agreed to the mission when I realized that, discretely, it had been all her fault. Yusuke had done well with Goki, yes, but sending him after Rando was another thing all together. But it happened.

She simply said, "Who else are you gonna send?" and "That's why you have a detective."

They were true words, but honestly, didn't I make any decisions anymore? I've reasoned this to be not an ulterior motive at all, simply her love for chaos and chaotic situations. She watched, again. This time with Genkai's permission, who tolerated the girl and was even able to draw respect from that crazy mazoku.

And he won, AGAIN! Perhaps getting a detective had been a wise decision, since all these events started taking place. How strange and fortunate. And again, I found myself questioning how much the girl knew. She visited me less while Yusuke trained with Genkai and disappeared all together often. She declared that she was busy, unusually so, she admitted, but she had certain duties that simply came before entertainment.

Just before Yusuke's training ended, she came storming into my office screaming insanities.

"_Bloody disgusting, that's what it is. Simply gross. Bugs crawling in and out of every orifice of the human bodies. I'm telling you, Koemna, I'm really gonna go blind this time!"_

And thus the Makai insect issue. Her blind statement was easily ignored; the girl walked around with her eyes closed half the time since I'd told her about how inhuman her eyes looked. If she went blind, she'd probably run into the same amount of stuff.

I'm proud to admit that it was me, and me alone, who decided to send Kurama after Yusuke. Though she certainly didn't complain. She cheerily retrieved Kurama from his cell, volunteered even, and I'd never know exactly what it was she said to him that made her grin like that. But she brought him just the same, careful to keep her eyes locked tight and running right into my desk after entering the room.

"_Come now, it's not often you get the offer to clean your slate," she had said. _

"_Indeed, I wonder just how wise this mission is, though," Kurama had admitted. This was still before Hiei had been added to the equation, though. "Even with my help, it will be… difficult." She smirked at his comment._

"_True enough. But isn't there another person who could use a clean slate?" she implied. I understood, my eyes widening in horror._

"_Absolutely not. I refuse. He'll kill someone! Or worse, he'll kill Yusuke!" I insisted and she laughed, sitting casually on my desk._

"_Come now, Koenma, baby, Hiei won't kill Yusuke… not right away, anyway."_

"_Not right away?!"_

"_Yes, not right away. He respects the boy and Kurama as well." _

_I had not been shy about showing my displeasure at her idea, even in front of Kurama, but she did little to let me speak. _

"_We've got Kurama on our side, too. What's the worst that can happen?"_

"_What's the worst that can happen?!" I laughed; it was high-pitched—a nervous sound, even to my ears. I'd heard that line before and I was coming to associate it with asking for trouble. "Hiei joins the other side and together they crush Yusuke AND Kurama."_

"_Won't happen." She said, so certain—I almost gave in right there. "Our little fire pixy is more honorable than you give him credit for," she defended. "Have more faith in them, Koenma; they'll be a magnificent team." _

_Her grin triggered something in me._

"_It's going to be total chaos, isn't it!?" _

_She knew. I knew that she knew! She had to know! That chaos-loving psycho! And then, I said something I shouldn't have. Not just in front of Kurama—I shouldn't have said it at all. "If you're so certain of everything, you go take out the Saint Beasts. It'd save me a hell of a lot of time!"_

"_Now, now, Koemna, you know I can't do that," she opened her eyes and glared at me. My world froze over completely in those moments her eyes held mine and I wisely shut up. "Look at it this way. Why shouldn't you send Hiei? You have no one else and he's really quite powerful. Besides, if you don't send Hiei, Yusuke will die. And, Koenma, darling... I realllly don't want that to happen again." _

_She had me. I'd already given in, and she could see it in to those damned purple eyes of hers. _

"_Fifty thousand yen." She offered._

"_What?" I asked._

"_Fifty thousand on Yusuke to live." She said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world._

"_W-what?? You want to bet on his life!?"_

_Was she insane??_

"_Why not? Do you think betting on him will mar his chances of survival?" She thought aloud. I gapped at her. "If so you make a quick fifty and if not he lives and everybody wins!"_

"_Are you insane?!" I hissed._

"_Hey, Kurama," she started. "I fought for the little fire pixy, so don't make me look bad and let him go off killing Yusuke or you, kay?" _

_She winked and, not for the first time, was I given the distinct impression that I was so going to regret this later._

And I had regretted my decision… at first. But they did it. They really did it. Four B class demons beaten by the strangest team of fighters I'd ever laid eyes on. Of course, the result of their victory was Itazura introducing me to booze with my own money, but, it was bound to happen someday. And still, she did not present herself to Yusuke Urimeshi. As far as I knew all she was to the team was a face Hiei had seen once and a person Kurama was VERY vaguely acquainted with, if at all. He didn't know her name. But then, I hardly knew her name myself, so... good for him.

Then again I was beginning to have instense suspicions that she'd had more contect with the team then I had suspected.

At this point, she disappeared very often; sometimes abruptly from my office. She didn't have a usual visiting time. But normally I would see her at least once a month and recently she'd been showing more then once a week. It all seemed to depend on how much chaos I'd gotten myself into. This time, her entire energy in this world disappeared for three days straight before turning up dimmed beyond comprehension. She hid her exhaustion well, but I could tell; it was something I prided myself on.

"_MORNING, CHIBI-CHAN!" She shouted, phasing in a sleepy position right onto my desk. I sighed. Perhaps she was the reason I had so much backed up paperwork. _

"_Zura… wonderful." _

"_Aw, Chibi-chan doesn't like me." She waved carelessly and I noticed her flinch violently._

"_What's wrong?" I asked immediately. _

"_Nothing big." _

_I threw her a look._

"_You're lying to me, Zura?" I was relatively not shocked but, to hell with it._

"_Lie? Me? No, I never lie," she said simply and it was the truth. Zura never did lie, she just didn't always tell the truth. "You're getting good at this though, Chibi-chan. But really, it's nothing big"_

"_What happened? You vanished." I said, surprising myself with the softness in my voice. It was not completely bizarre; before she'd come bursting into my office, her presence had been a complete secret to the world. Perhaps she was growing bored of this place. It saddened me for some reason. Before, I'd say, 'thank god, the last thing we need is the neutrals getting involved.' But now the higher being had become my friend._

"_Just a little business I had to take care of," she sighed with a weariness I'd never before seen upon her face. It was an old kind, a wise kind that was chilling to see on someone so young, or well, someone who looked so very young. "He's coming, Koenma, and when he gets here…" Those violet eyes had opened. "I'm gonna be ready."_

_My eyes had widened. Someone who threatened her, someone who could actually pose a threat to Itazura Tenrai herself. _

_But she would not let me think on it too long and, to my face, she held up a picture and I took it curiously._ And so the search for Yukina began. I had questioned her on how she had found the girl before I could realize the stupidity behind my words. Clearly she had felt, perhaps even seen, the apparition's astral signal. But she answered just the same, an interesting answer.

"_She burns, Koenma, like a cool fire of sapphire and pearl. For a while, I basked in the presence of it, let it scorch and chill me as it pulsed with a strong power. But her signal is waning, Koenma. That cold fire is dying fast, her resolve is crashing, her powerful presence flickering with pain. I am drawn to Yusuke by his chaotic presence as I am drawn to this girl through her cold fire." Her distant eyes turned to me, half lidded and perhaps not there at all. _

"_She is too pure to let suffer, Koenma." My eyes again had widened in disbelief. _

"_An astral presence is a brilliant thing, Koenma; it tells you so much about a person's heart."_

For a moment, I had been tempted to ask her what my presence looked like, but perhaps out of the sheer fear of it, I decided not to. Or maybe I hadn't decided at all. Those words never reached my lips, all the same.

It was strange, the measure with which I had come to trust Itazura, whose very name means mischief, that I sent a tape out the next day to Yusuke and his friend. Kurama was absent this time, as well as Hiei, but of course, they found their way there, in the end. In fact, the end is exactly when they were there. It was Zura again who stopped me from calling on Hiei as he beat the man that held his sister, though I hadn't exactly fought back. She had appeared out of nowhere and she had whispered, _"I promise you, he'll pay, and Hiei will not be the one to issue that order. This, I promise you." And she never broke her word._

It was only natural, I assume, she had killed Tarukene when his soul turned up and was cast away. And for the first time, I had to wonder if this was not a bit dangerous, this game she was playing. She had long claimed to belong to no side other than hers and that of her master's, whom thankfully I'd never met. Yet, I had to wonder if she had become attached to her little entertainers. Enough, maybe, to kill Tarukene, who proved himself evil the very moment he kidnapped Yukina. I didn't know if I had been right, but I held the new belief with caution, not stupid enough to bring it up.

I would later find out that she had not killed Tarukene after all; it had been the Taguro brothers. It was strange that I felt disappointment at this. I did not wish to endanger Itazura, she was my friend, but it was also because of this that I had that sliver of hope that she might choose to, if not fight for, at least support the good side.

Zura didn't show up after that, not even to speak with me about Yusuke's… invitation to the Dark Tournament. For months, she had vanished, and it felt strange making decisions regarding the detectives without her. And when she returned battered and bleeding, gasping for breath on tiled floors, I was too shocked to do much else than stare for what felt like the longest time. And then she smiled.

"_Koenma, baby…" She coughed. "How's it hanging?" _

_And she collapsed. Violet eyes closed and silver hair drenched in red pooling around her head._

_I was at the edge of panic. I couldn't bring her to a healer, too many questions and she'd kill me when she woke up. Despite my firm beliefs that she could heal on her own, I couldn't very well leave her there. The ogres would notice. _

She slept for three days straight in my bed. And me? I slept at my desk. I did this often, though, so it didn't really matter.

_On the third day, my worry set in, surely, I should have gotten her a healer… how could I have been so daft!? These wounds would kill anyone. Mazoku Master or not, higher being or not, Neutral one or not! But there was nothing I could do now! She was a remarkable healer; most of the wounds had gone by the first night, except for that gaping hole in her stomach and her arm that had nearly been torn from its place entirely. _

_My resolve was set, she could be angry at me all she wanted; I was going to get a healer._

"_Koenma, you do what I think you're gonna do," my eyes widened, "and I'm gonna have to tear your pretty little head off." I swiveled to face her as she stretched. "Morning, Chibi-chan," she yawned. The simplicity of the picture was astounding. Sleep lined the edges of her muscles and made her first movements sluggish and catlike. She looked as innocent as a child, but she was so much more than a child._

_And I gaped. "Itazura. You're awake," I muttered._

"_Sorry if I caused you trouble." Her words were simple, strong though exhausted, commanding with power but rasping with neglect._

"_No," I started, surprising myself. This was the kind of thing I'd normally shove in her face, I'd planned on it, the perfect atmosphere clearer; plus she'd owe me one. And I very much liked the idea of The Itazura Tenrai being in my debt. "No, Zura, no trouble at all," was what finally came out. That had been unnerving and I frowned slightly. "May I inquire as to what happened?" There, finally._

"_You may. Another bit of business that went a tad bit sour."_

"_A tad bit sour?" I repeated. "You were out for three days!"_

"_Really?" I twitched._

"_Yes, really! Now if you'll please explain exactly what happened, it's the least I deserve." _

_She stared blankly at me for moment and sighed. "Yeah, okay." _

_My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. 'Yeah, okay.' Simple, effective, and unbelievable! Finally, she was going to tell me something._

"_Kaze Master Seleena tried to kill me." My jaw dropped. So that was it. _

"_Kaze Master Seleena." I repeated, hardly believing my words._

"_She's never been very fond of me. There was a meeting in which Seleena spoke to my Master. Things did not go well. She said something she should not have and I spoke out of turn. In response, she fazed us far from my Master and continued to try an attempt at my life." She spoke as though it was all very simple and she gave little information I could work with, but I understood enough._

"_You're still alive…" I marveled._

"_Of course!" She laughed to my surprise. "Come now, Koenma, do you honestly think my Master would allow Seleena to kill his second in command? I'm his General, Koenma." So much pride. I was silent, confused. "Why's your bed so big, anyway?"_

But she had refused further detail after her story. I was not surprised by this, but it was frustrating all the same.

The neutral ones were scary then as they are now; proud beings, old and powerful, with agendas all their own. There's not a great deal of knowledge about what it is they 'want.' What I do know is that they're very into balance. And not in that peacekeepers-who've-seen-the-horrors-of-war kind of way. No, they'd used horrific methods to keep their 'balance' before. They'd have war over what was theirs, the kind of war one can only dream about. It's very complicated.

"_I don't understand," I admitted._

"_It's kinda weird," she agreed. "What's ours is ours and is not to be tampered with. And what is ours we do not rule over, so much as we 'exist,'" she said passionately._

_It was, by far, one of the strangest conversations we'd ever had. It surprised me how willing she was to talk about it. _

"_And Urimeshi… he is also yours?" I asked bravely. I was reaching a point where I desperately wanted to know what her relationship with the boy was. I'd spent another sleepless night dwelling on her 'ulterior motive.' _

"_Yusuke is no man's," she said clearly. My brow furrowed, that had not been what I had asked._

Yusuke Urimeshi's defeat of Chu was a very good distraction for the much smaller, simpler, and conveniently overlooked thing that had also happened that day. A power surge on the astral field, an explosion, if you will, and Itazura's brief disappearance. The Tournament was just starting, and she'd tell me nothing.

Of course, I had no proof that Itazura had anything to do with the explosion, no proof at all. Except an unexplainable and undeniable certainty in my very blood that 'knew' it had been her. She knew I'd felt it, and refused to admit at having any knowledge to the incident. But it is very strange; you see, very few beings can fight on the astral plane. The Neutral ones are among those few. What she had been doing there, I could only guess at, for it seemed absurd to even think she had been fighting some other being.

Granted it could be determined that out of all the Neutral beings Itazura and her master were the most social outside of their race. Or perhaps just Itazura who'd follow any order she was given without question. In any case Master Tenrai did not seem to mind letting his general do as she pleased. This antisocial bit as Zura had once explained to me had a plausible reason.

"_Insanity?" I asked in disbelief, surely she couldn't be serious._

"_Yeah." She laughed. "Power can be madness in a sense, when not under the proper mental care. It's not all that uncommon for one of us to go round the twist or want to take over a world or two."_

_And suddenly she serious, more so then I'd seen her in a long time._

"_We stop it when it gets to that point. We who still hold sanity will not allow destruction to befall these worlds under our own power. Anyone elses and we usually ignore it for it would never be as serious as when a Neutral one wishes it. It is never a threat to us until it is one of our own."_

_I didn't see how any of this had to do with why no one ever saw Neutral ones now a days._

"_There are few of us left Koenma darling. Too many have 'gone round the twist,' and many do not associate because they don't see the point."_

And then she was gone. I hadn't seen her in what seemed like a long time. In truth, it hadn't been that long, something just seemed wrong to me. Zura had become my friend, and yes, I was quite worried for her.

But the tournament was still underway. Urimeshi's fight was the next day and I really couldn't miss it. Perhaps she knew I'd go and didn't wish to be in public. She'd never really shown herself to anyone but me. It made me feel warm somehow. Itazura has never been an open person about herself and even I know very little about her, but she knew a little about everything, it seemed. There were very few dangers she'd not heard of and, if there was a demon whose name she'd not memorized, then he wasn't good enough for her time.

I figured she'd probably turn up eventually, acting like she'd never been gone. With cryptic words said with a careless smile and eyes that betrayed her to all for what she was. I accepted that when I left this morning. I accepted whole-heartedly that she was Itazura and it was very unlikely that anyone would harm her.

And sitting here in this office, watching everything happen, watching as Yusuke's battle with Jin is interrupted. The Irish wind master taking to the air to escape the falling debree. Watching, completely stunned, as the entire stadium blew up.

People screaming, rubble falling. And all I could notice was the energy surge. Her power, Itazura's power. I became briefly aware of the shadow that sprang towards Yusuke, a dangerous aura with it that widened my eyes and quickened my breath. Yusuke was in trouble, that thing was going after him! I really did try to call out. But the boy so diligently wished to fight with Jin he may not have heard it, had I gotten the chance.

Surprisingly, it was Jin who warned Urimeshi, looking genuinely concerned. And Yusuke did notice, at the last moment, and turned to meet the creature, with a curious face of a boy who did not understand the full magnitude of the danger he was in.

One second, just the one, and suddenly, she was there. There, standing by the boy, in front of him, protectively. The same second, where energy cracked and lit the air with a dark sort of light, that very second when her arm struck out, so fast it was odd I'd seen it at all. The force alone sent the predator skidding clear away from Yusuke.

"Mine," she growled possessively, silver hair swirling about her in a mass of fury.

Her violet eyes lit with such malicious intent that I almost choked and found myself dearly thankful the look was not directed at me. It was all so very fast and so confusing. But he had tampered with what was hers -that much I understood- and that's just something you don't do.

The shadow darted away and, even in my fear, I clambered toward her, toward my friend.

"Who the hell are you?" Yusuke half shouted, just to be heard over the roar of the collapsing stadium. It wasn't needed but she turned to face him anyway, a mischievous smile as true as her name adorning her face. The murderous intent that had not yet completely waned made the sight something to be wary of.

"Hello, Yusuke Urimeshi. I am Itazura Tenrai," she answered simply, and power rolled off those lips in the form of speech. Anyone but Yusuke surely would have been stunned into silence, anyone but Yusuke would have been rendered thoughtless at the sight of her eyes. Problem is, this was Yusuke.

"That's all well and dandy but what the hell is going on here?!" And I'll never quite understand how that boy sees this world, because you just didn't talk to people like Zura like that. But she liked him, probably for that very reason, if nothing else.

"Someone's come to kill you, Yusuke, and I'm here to make sure that he doesn't succeed," she smirked, my breath caught in my throat. This was her ulterior motive, after all…

**A/N: **Tada!. Now, assuming you're still here after all that boring stuffs, I'd like to assure you, it will get funny. This prologue was just to catch you up and get you to know the general outline of my character without my having to give you the whole profile first chapter thing. Blah! So I decided I was gonna try to be original, and out of that, I got Itazura. Not your typical OC. (sweatdrop)

Seriously though, Vote for pairings.

PLEASE REVIEW! Love!

**Itazura – Mischief**

**Tenrai -- Divine**


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